Germany dedicates memorial to Gypsy victims of the Nazis

(JTA) — Germany dedicated a memorial to the half a million Gypsies killed by the Nazis.

The memorial in Berlin to the ethnic Sinti and Roma was opened Wednesday by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The monument was designed by Israeli artist Dani Karavan and includes a water well surrounded by art depicting German persecution.

German political leaders and members of the Roma community were present at the dedication.

Gypsies were deemed inferior by the Nazis and subject to forced sterilization and Nazi labor camps.

“This memorial acknowledges a group of victims who have gone unacknowledged for far too long,” Merkel said at the opening ceremony. “We cannot reverse what happened. But we can bring remembrance of it into the very center of our society.”